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I actually failed my first license test. I got an automatic fail. I guess I had been doing well but she had to pull the emergency brake so obviously there was a problem. I remember them handing me my fail paper and me just bursting into tears.

The devastating scale and frequency of my disappointment was proof of how much I still expected and wanted from the world, of what high hopes I still had for it.

It once amused me that it took me three tries to pass my driver's test and that my driving instructor told my mother that I was the least talented person behind the wheel that she had ever taught.

What great thing would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?

I had to know if I could make it somewhere else. I did not want to go through the rest of my life wondering what might have been without putting myself to the test.

I was accustomed to being in far, far riskier environments. So I thought going into that canyon was a walk in the park - there were no avalanches, it was a beautiful day and I was essentially just walking.

I wasn't afraid to fail. Something good always comes out of failure.

What is there to be afraid of? The worst thing that can happen is you fail. So what? I failed at a lot of things. My first record was horrible.

I'm most scared of failing, of disappointing people.